Wednesday Night Top Gear

So far, the only event in my very un-lively Hawler social calendar is the weekly Wednesday night Top Gear event at Dk's flat the floor below me (an event carried over from last year). Typically, on Monday, J (another colleague) will ask me if I am coming for Top Gear the following day. On Tuesday, on leaving the university, I will greet Dk with, "See you later for Top Gear." To which, Dk will respond that it is only Tuesday and Top Gear is on Wednesday. In this way, J works at building the suspense for me. On Wednesday, I will get a text message from J saying, See you at 7." At 7:00 pm, I will make my way to Dk's who will make me wait at the door (I am presuming because he - like many here - deals with the heat by hanging out in his underwear) until either he (or the apartment) is presentable. He will let me in, but is perhaps understandably befuddled at how it is that from week to week, I can't remember that Top Gear is not on until 8:00 and that I continue to respond to J's texts.

What makes this Wednesday night 8:00 pm Top Gear ritual even more ridiculous is that MBC Action is no longer broadcasting Top Gear and that Dk must download recent episodes from the Internet in preparation for this event... Hence, what does it matter that I am sometimes an hour (or even a day) early? Can't we just screen the episode when I arrive?

PS. I never would have thought I'd enjoy a show about cars, but in fact, Jeremy Clarkson's incredible Political Incorrectness is a bit entertaining... as is watching the likes of Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsey do laps in a cheapo Chevy... and knowing they are both faster than Simon Pegg. It is also potentially valuable to know which kind of scooter to rent in Vietnam (and yes, that is a collander on James May's head above) or what the fastest mode of ground transportation to the North Pole is.